


In This Neck Of The Woods

by grapefruity



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Aka Alastor vs Being In Love With An Actual Angel And Struggling A Lot With It, Charlastor Week, Deer Man vs. Boss Level Charlie, F/M, Maybe - Freeform, i think, in a cute way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:14:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22986952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grapefruity/pseuds/grapefruity
Summary: a collection of charlastor one-shots for their special week; also my debut into this chaotic ship with my heart and soul poured into 30-60 minute writeups lmao enjoy
Relationships: Alastor/Charlie Magne
Comments: 23
Kudos: 184





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> day 1 - dancing
> 
> could i have written this more seriously? maybe. did i just want to write a fluffy piece involving pancakes and kitchen dancing while alastor tries (and fails) to have the upperhand? yes. yes yes.

Charlie often had a knack for humming under her breath and swaying to the beat of her own harmony whenever she got caught up. Dusting the shelves? She’d be caught snapping her opposing finger every now and then to the beat in her head. Doing some paperwork? Tapping her toes along to an imaginary rhythm. Whisking the eggs as the simple task that Alastor set her to work on? Her shoulders were doing a systematic bop up and down whilst the aforementioned wendigo watched curiously from the corner of his eye.

Alastor himself was quite the musical man, he so considered, either be it to the tune of swing and jazz, or the melodious cries of his victims pleading for their lives as he snapped limbs apart like twigs. A man of _many_ musical curiosities he would say. And naturally, the princess that had her hips join into this little solo song she had going for her was also quite the curiosity for the red eyed demon. He was frying up some pancakes while Charlie made work on mixing up a new batch, fluffing up the separated egg whites as he had shown her with a beat to keep her on track. _How inventive_ , he’d thought to himself with an endeared little twitch of one of his ears. _And how… rather charming._

As of late, the habits of the naïve blonde had come to rub him in less of an unpleasant way than they initially had. What once had been something like watching a dying beetle struggle on its back while he poked at its belly and peeled off its antennas, it had become like watching a cloud in the shape of a demoness prance about the sky between beams of sunlight with a giggle in the wind. It was almost as lovely an image as the makeshift chef to his right.

Now, Alastor was hardly the sentimentalist, save for that of the sweet soul of his Mother, god bless her heart, but where the loathsome likes of Hellborns and sinners were concerned, he could not care less for their suffering unless he could use it to bide the rest of his eternity here. However, Charlie had wormed her way into his heart with her nose scrunching, cheek smushing, and sunny smiling in a way that was… unusual.

Almost as unusual as… the.. lyrics she was now mouthing?

“I couldn’t aspire,” She sweetly breathed, loose strands of hair tickling the edges of her smile. “To anything higher, than to feel the desire,” She tapped the whisk against the bowl with a flourish, cradling it in her arms like a dance partner as she twirled around to set it on the kitchen caddy as she set about grabbing the flour that puffed up in her face. She paid it no mind as she continued on.

“To make,” Her hands glided around the bench pouring some flour out into a cup she grabbed onto. “You my own,” Into the bowl it went, before she flashed him a smile over her shoulder as if to get his approval for the action she had just committed.

He was a little too distracted by the melody she was weaving from between her pretty black lips. Who knew a canary that was centuries old had any mind to pay to that of the music of the roaring twenties! If he didn’t know any better, he might think this was some black magic that was bewitching him to be dizzy with the dame before him.

But had he known any better, perhaps he would’ve kept his hands to himself instead of sliding one into the one she had propped up to bop to the song with while she leafed through the recipe he had written out for her.

“I wanna be loved by you,” He crooned, spinning her around, meeting large, surprised eyes while she slipped a bit from the loss of focus on her previous task. “Just you,” He winked, catching her around the waist to dip her low so he could spare her the shame of dragging them both to the ground in her moment of incoordination. Despite this however, when she noticed what they were doing, the taken aback little ‘oh’ that her mouth had formed into spread into a dazzling grin, her pearly fangs nibbling a bit at her lower lip.

“Nobody else but you,” They both sang together on the next bit, both of them snapping back up and stepping together in a synchronization absent just a few moments prior. Alastor’s nose wriggled a little with the smell of something vaguely burnt disrupting the olfactory sensation of warm summer meadows practically washing over him from the golden locks tumbling over his forearms. No matter.

“I wanna be loved by you,” They continued, circling around in the kitchen, Alastor nudging his abandoned cane until a band started up after an initial crackle of static to accompany them.

“Boop-boop-de-boop!” Charlie supplied, twirling herself away from him before back into his arms, crows feet creasing around her bright eyes with the way she was smiling up at him, the dustings of flour from earlier still present.

“I wanna be kissed by you,” She continued, grin pulling into a coquettish smile, before a daring hand reached up to boop him on the nose. “Just you,” Alastor was now the one looking at her like quite the, er, _deer_ in the headlights, before he melted into the action with a chuckle.

“Nobody else but you,” He cheekily quipped back, twirling her until he had both hands around hers, her back pressed to his front as he leaned over to breathe the lines against her blushing cheeks before he twirled her back around the front with nearly the same flourish as the Lindy Hop.

But perhaps it was Charlie who had the upperhand in this charade they were playing, her hand coming up to stroke against his cheek as he took the other and waltzed her around some more. “I wanna be kissed by you alone,” She practically murmured, leaning closer in which caused Alastor to stiffen because– well frankly, how dare she! That was quite the sneak attack and his traitorous instincts were telling his lids to droop shut, his face to lean into the warm inviting breath puffing out against his lower lips and–

Then, they were sprinkled with a shower of water that flattened his hair to his face, his ears dropping in annoyance as the moment was flushed in cold water.

“Oh,” She breathed, the spell having been broken even if she was still tilted in his grip. “The pancakes are on fire,” She explained in the same airy tone that had Alastor a dizzy mess despite being the one holding _her._

“Ah,” He coughed, straightening back out and releasing her. “Well that just won’t do! What’ll the rabble take on?” He chuckled, immediately snapping back to normal as if he wasn’t soaked to the bone and had been at the mercy of the most innocent thing Hell had to offer. He made his strides over to the hob, snapped his fingers to stop the sprinklers from going off any further (how ridiculous? In a place that was _literally_ always on fire to some degree?) and set to work disposing the charred pancakes. “Looks like I’ll need you to work your magic doll and whip up a fresh new batch! Can’t have these sinners missing out on a special touch of redemption!”

What he wasn’t expecting in response to that was a pair of soft, delicate lips pressed to the corner of his mouth, causing him to go as stiff as a pole and probably as red as his eyes. The gentle hand curled around his neck glided away before he had the chance to even process its presence and the culprit gave him a soft laugh, noticing just how utterly flabbergasted he now was.

“No we can’t,” She sweetly supplied, turning back around to the caddy and retrieving a clean bowl and the flour she was working with earlier. “Especially not the biggest sinner of them all Alastor! Hence why I think you need your dose before the rest,”

He cleared his throat, unsure what to do in the moment before he forced himself to breathe and oil up the pan again. “Surely your biggest sinner deserves more than just the regular dosage?”

“Oh don’t worry, he’d already gotten it just then,” She continued, oblivious to the way he very nearly dropped the bottle of oil he’d been holding. “I’d been saving that one up for _weeks_. Who knew all it would take was a little Bert Kalmar to get him to finally be receptive to it?”


	2. Sealed By The Shadow Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day 2 - human
> 
> Alastor marks his prey only to find himself tangled in his very own net. And frankly, he's not all that bothered by it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright so I know I could have made this fluffier and more one-shotty but I just can't stray from the temptation of a crooked Alastor taken by Charlie who's trying so hard to escape the mafia life but is still no force to be reckoned with. maaaaaybe I could continue this plot in a more developed multi-chapter fic? leave ur thoughts xo

The first he’d heard of her was when she made her debut as a proper woman at one of the don’s elaborate parties, and every local scrub, button man and aspiring mob boss couldn’t wait to glance upon Don Lou’s little belle. Alastor however, had little interest in women and more with his day job when he wasn’t playing the ranks of the seedy underworld or getting his hands on the neck of his next prey for the thrill of it. The talk of Charlotte Magne was one that came to pass initially as that of the ‘gorgeous blonde the Don had under an iron grip’ to the ‘airhead that believed more in rainbows and puppies than in taking over the family business’. Still, as she aged the suitors for her hand only grew, even if her reputation amongst that of the crime lords was pitiful at best.

But once again, Alastor could care less for some broad who had her conk in the clouds and her daddy’s bankroll to fuel her silly ideas. In fact, Alastor could care less for the mob, if not for Lou providing him an outlet for his less savoury instincts, and a respect for him that was not just superficial. No, unlike that of Stolas or Vox, Lou had the qualities of a gentleman and the class to come with, his brutality was elegant and refined and not garishly theatric or over the top. Alastor could respect a man who knew when to kill and how to do it in style.

He couldn’t respect the blonde twist that he caught sight of on the picture show babbling on about ‘rehabilitation’ or ‘redemption’. No, no, that was absolutely ludicrous! Ha! To think someone out there thought all some despicable criminals needed was a lollipop to shut them up and a hand holding to change their ways. But oh, there was just something entertaining about her, maybe it was that little way that she giggled at every passing comment or how she pouted when someone shot her down but stood her ground.

Or maybe the way she was adorably standing there with a pistol gripped between her hands as she slanted narrow baby blue eyes at him. He casually held his hands up in surrender, not that he actually felt threatened by her or that she’d found him dressed for a night of murder. No, there was just something… that told him to do it.

“Stop. Right. There,” She punctuated, the shadow of her cloche hat dwarfing her face slightly. “I know who you are,” She said with an air of confidence that he’d heard in her promotion for the center, or when she sat across from him in the booth rambling into the microphone like she was born to do it. “I knew it when I sat across from you that day, that- that _voice,”_

“Well, it is broadcasted every couple of nights my dear, I’d take personal offense if you _couldn’t_ recognize it,” He quipped with a smirk, one lanky leg transferring his weight to the other. Sure, he’d had his turtleneck pulled up over half his face, and a distasteful black beanie disguised his tufts of brown hair. Hell, he’d even taken the trouble to get his hands on those horrible glass contact lenses just so his glasses wouldn’t make the disguise moot. Yet, she’d figured it out. How very interesting.

“You were at the ball two years ago,” She breathed, grip on the gun still trained tight. “You danced with me. At first I was besotted with you until I remembered you were another lackey of my father’s,”

He narrowed his eyes at that, grin turning a little more irksome. “Make no mistake sweetheart, I am nobody’s lackey, not even your father’s,” Though in some ways he could see how she might think that. He was the one who had offered to shadow her for, well, ‘protection’, as he made out to the Don that she had made herself too easy a victim and if he were to dispose of her he’d be an easy mark to make. But it was still, _his_ idea, even if the infamous ‘Lucifer’ had agreed to it.

“Yeah? Well if you’re going to tail me so obviously I doubt he’d want you as one anyway,” She snapped. He laughed in response. Golly, did the girl have bite! It stirred something in him that not even the ferociousness of Mimzy in a bad mood could. Something very unique. “So you have three options. Either I shoot you here, and you die. I tell my father you failed at your duty, shoot myself in the leg and blame you, and you die along the line. Or, you do what I say instead,” She steadily breathed, though her conviction was wavering with the quipped brow Alastor gave her. “Because uh. I don’t really want to use this thing. Or you know, murder anyone?”

“It does go against your morals,” He shrugged, taking confident steps towards her, watching her arms tremble slightly until the barrel was pressed to his chest. “Though, I can’t say the challenge doesn’t _excite_ me princess,” He grinned at her, leaning in closer until their noses were almost touching. She had the pinkest cheeks without too much rouge, delicate eyelashes that kept fluttering with every unsure glance she flickered between him and her gun, and hair spun of gold. Like a porcelain doll, thrust into a life unbefitting of her. Though, with the way she tightened her grip around the gun in her hands, maybe it wasn’t so much unbefitting as it was just not among her list of hobbies. “Go on then, shoot me, you already think me a sinner,”

She dared to meet his eyes, and he felt a pang that could’ve been a gunshot if not for the fact that he was still standing. “…No,” She breathed, shakily lowering her gun and stuffing it back into her handbag. “Though I would like to get to know you better before I pass judgement,” She held out a dainty little hand which Alastor fixated his gaze on in puzzlement. “And I’d like… if the time ever came, if you let me help you,”

“Help me? Dear there’s more than enough people in this massacre madness,” He retorted with a snort, jabbing himself in the chest with his index finger. “I’m a solo operative, and if you’re not going to kill me then I’ll keep it that way,”

“Then I’ll tell my father,” She bluntly responded, expression flatlining in such a way that he couldn’t help but smile in endearment. She certainly had bite. “So either stick with me or let _him_ stick his cane down your throat. Deal?”

And there was that hard bargain she drove. Alastor certainly could toy around and pretend to play into her hands like putty, use her silly little rehabilitation plan to pick out some fresh meat for the kill, but something in the back of his mind nagged that it wouldn’t be that simple. This Charlotte was no mere ditz that he could fool that easy. _And perhaps, maybe I wouldn’t mind being fooled a little by her?_

“Can’t promise I’ll play entirely fair…” He began, trying to stomp out that little annoying itch in his head, Cheshire grin marking his features. “But… you have yourself a deal then,” His gloved hand took hold of her much smaller one, before he brought it up to his face, pressing lips to her knuckles. “Miss Magne,”


	3. Sunshine & Ravioli

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day 3 - cooking 
> 
> chapter title from the song pennies from heaven
> 
> Charlie prepares a little surprise only to be met with one from the very demon she means to surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there we go I finally wrote a fluffy, established charlastor piece
> 
> i also had the nagging need to get home from my work party just to write this so, here u go

It was rare that the princess awoke before him, usually it was Alastor who was gingerly peeling off one of her arms that had been thrown across his chest, her nose buried into the edge of his shoulder. Sure, it had taken some getting used to to _not_ fling her instinctively across the room when he awoke to the contact of another demon but now it was odd if he opened his eyes to an empty spot beside him, absent of Charlie’s warmth. Luckily, that had only ever happened once before when her father had made a surprise visit and she had vacated before he could stumble upon them.

Was this another instance of Lucifer ruining a well-deserved morning of his?

He blinked at the opposite side of the bed, still a little ruffled from where she had slept, with just a hint of warmth left, suggesting she couldn’t have been out of bed for more than a mere half hour. The time indicated it was barely just a quarter past seven, and yet her nightie was already draped over the chair adjacent her vanity. The radio demon wasn’t one exactly for hide and seek, and frankly he was a little peeved to not have her cuddling up to him on this particular morning so he wasted no time in dressing and doing up the bed before making his way down the halls in search of his missing beaux.

It wasn’t until he reached the staircase that there was the faint smell of.. anchovies….? How very strange. The only time he smelt fish around these parts nowadays was when Baxter stuck his gilled face where it didn’t have business or when he was in the kitchen whipping up something for dinner out of his memory of creole dishes. Not to mention, surely no one would be awake at this hour!

Ah. Except…

“There you are my dear,” He mused, popping his head around the corner, the glow from his eyes illuminating parts of the kitchen the fire from the stove had yet to reach. The demoness in question had a black apron laced to her, her hair pulled back into a ponytail that was actually tied at the base of her scalp instead of at the very end of her luscious hair and a wooden spatula in one hand that very nearly clattered to the ground when she jumped half a foot in the air.

“Oh sweet satan!” She swore, dramatically holding a hand to her chest to relieve her of the initial shock of his unexpected presence. She whipped around to face him from over her shoulder with mock annoyance and a pout that made him grin at her fondly before he strolled over to peer at what she was doing with all the food in front of her. There was a tray off to one side, a bowl of poached eggs set aside and a smaller saucepan at the ready for what he could only assume was hollandaise given the spread of ingredients tuckered neatly near it. “What are you doing awake? You usually don’t get up until another half hour from now,” She stated, trying her best to shield his gaze from what he’d already seen with her lithe frame and failing rather miserably at it.

“Well, I couldn’t help but notice a certain weighted blanket had made itself scarce, and it made the task of slumber all the more difficult!” He easily responded, folding his hands behind his back. Charlie flushed a little at being caught so easily like that, pushing a few loose strands of hair behind her ear in embarrassment.

“Heh… I didn’t really think you’d notice,” She sheepishly replied with the smallest of smiles before turning her attention back to the frying pan. “Well… you caught me! I’m not doing anything particularly interesting so you can go back to sleep Al’. I’ll even send Razzle and Dazzle with some extra sheets if that’ll help you sleep better,” She said, blinking her innocent doe eyes back up at him.

“Nonsense! I think there’s only one remedy for my sleeplessness darling and right now she’s busy tinkering around in here,” He coolly said, moving behind her to wrap an arm around her waist, grinning at the way it only deepened the flush that had now spread to the tips of her ears and down her neck. “And not particularly interesting! My, I think as one with an eye for the humorous, this is most certainly interesting! I mean, you have yet to set the kitchen on fire doll!” His radio audience perked up then, accompanying his sentence with a laugh track.

“Bully,” She huffed, weakly punching his other arm with one of hers before frowning down at the anchovies and ham in the dish before plating them off onto a separate plate.

“I merely jest dear,” He chuckled, bopping her nose with a clawed finger before resting it atop her shoulder. “Now, will you tell me why it is you’re cooking up something delicious enough to wake even one of Hell’s most feared overlords? Some wouldn’t even dare try their hand at something like that,”

“You- you really think it smells good?” She grinned, eyes glittering at the subtle compliment he had paid her.

“Of course I do,” He replied with a peck of her temple, causing her to bring a hand up to smush her cheek happily. Ah it was just the little things in his afterlife that made it all the more wonderful, and Charlie seemed to be most of those little things. “Now stop evading the question with your endearing habits, you can only work your dizzying spell on me for so long,”

“If anyone’s dizzying it’s you Mr. Sweet Talker,” She said with a half accusatory tone, though her expression was mirthful, nonetheless. It flickered hesitantly before she looked away, moving just slightly out of his hold to make for the spinach on the other sound of the counter before pulling it out and spreading it out upon the chopping board as if she was questioning how best to approach the situation of their leafiness. “And if you really must know…” With a huff, her shoulders slumped, and she looked slightly defeated at the ground, lifelessly picking up a chopping knife. “I was hoping to make you breakfast in bed. Because– well you always do the cooking and it’s always wonderful! And- and I figured you must miss some parts of your human life like, having food cooked for you, and well, it _is_ the anniversary of your arrival in hell–“

“Oh! I’d completely lost track of that! I’m surprised you know at all!” He interjected before her babbling could entirely consume her. “And why, Charlie, don’t look so glum, I’m awfully charmed by the very thought let alone the attempt,” Raising her limp, non-knife-holding hand, he pressed a kiss to the top of it. “Although, the sweetest dish is yourself of course,”

“Allllll,” She whined, pushing him very weakly in the chest. “Stooop, you’re ruining my big romantic gesture by being all.. more romantic and stuff. It’s not faaair,”

He gave her a genuine grin then, gliding off of her to make a grab for one of the other aprons, busying himself with digging through the cabinets for some flour and sugar. “Alright then, I concede, I’ll let you get on with your task if,” He held his hand up, a finger pointed up conditionally. “You let me help. You’ve already noted how much I like the kitchen, for reasons I’m sure you are aware of,” Another laugh track, though this one had Charlie just a little spooked by his obvious reference to his… _ahem…_ less than holy appetite. “So, letting me join in will be all the more rewarding. Though I’ll get to work on some dessert so I can share this meal with you. It wouldn’t be complete without a little sweetness, don’t you agree?” He inquired, tilting his head with a suggestive look.

Again, the flush creeped back into her snowy complexion, only disturbed by the small nod she gave. “…Alright. Only! Only because I too, would like your company,”

And if Angel had noticed them twenty minutes later giggling over the kitchen table while Charlie wiped sugar all over his lips and nose before promptly kissing it all off, they definitely didn’t.


	4. Ain't Nobody Takin' My Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day 4 - jealousy
> 
> Speakeasy's don't make for the easiest of speak, especially not with a busty blonde making eyes at your man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> changed rating to T just for suggestive comments in this one
> 
> i considered writing a jealous Al' but I feel like I've written too many skewed in Al's POV that this had to be done. also wanted to include a sex positive (IMPLIED) Al that can still be asexual!!! hehe enjoy

Charlie was aware that prior to Hell, Alastor had a life wherein he was known for his voice and his rather charming good looks. And then well, eventually the many, many murders he committed, though that wasn’t until long after his death, and even that was a speculation. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that Alastor’s prior life, was one that Charlie hadn’t considered might possibly intersect with his afterlife, especially with his companions from his time on Earth following in his path down to Hell.

She understood this! He was a somewhat cool guy if you could look past the razors in his mouth, the voodoo magic he wielded like it was just a flame from a lighter and the bloodlust he would gladly share with anyone who dared cross him. But it didn’t mean she had to be one hundred percent _happy_ about the reunion one of his old buddies had called on Earth Valentine’s of all days, especially when his old buddy had the curves of a Greek Goddess, and the fashion sense that definitely knew how to show it off. _And_ when she had both arms slung so casually around the elbow of Alastor, giggling at everything he was saying with an adoring look in her eye. And boy, did Charlie know what that look meant.

She couldn’t help but throw the cocktail Mimzy had whipped up for her back a little faster than what was probably best for her and couldn’t help but scoot closer to Alastor to curl her own protective hand around his opposing elbow. He didn’t turn to acknowledge her, but his ever-expressive ears did perk at the touch of her grip, tighter than it usually was.

And then, the little hussy had the audacity to invite him to dance. They’d barely been here more than twenty minutes! As if she was going to steal his very first dance on this… traditionally romantic holiday!

She cleared her throat, tightened her grip and felt just the beginnings of an itch where her horns were starting to sprout. Mimzy didn’t seem to notice but when Alastor finally cast her a glance over his shoulder and noticed the reddening of her sclera’s he assembled the pieces faster than Charlie could accidentally set the speakeasy on fire. Mimzy was the last demon she needed to make another Tom Trench out of.

“Charmed Mimi, really, but I believe I owe this lil’ kitten a dance first,” He coolly filled in the ensuing silence, slipping his arm out of Mimzy’s grip to pat Charlie’s hand. “After all, it’s not often we’re afforded the comfort of dancing in public discounting the _many_ balls her father throws. Shall we my love?” He hummed, nodding his head for her to slide out of the booth so they could head to the dancefloor.

Mimzy frowned a little, clearly a little miffed at being rejected by someone she had known for over a century, again, but managed to tightly resign herself to it and watched as Charlie threw her a smug smirk, yellow bleeding back into the red. “Oh, of course Al’, I gotta agree, it’s nice to not have to dance in one of those suffocating corsets,” She laughed airily, pulling him out of the booth after her without a second glance at the cross armed flapper watching the pair head hand in hand towards the rest of the crowd of dancing demons.

The band had been playing all sorts of crooners and love songs throughout the night, but it seemed that by just their luck a slower song had been struck up the minute they reached the center of the room, Alastor looking all too content with this turnout while Charlie nestled her head comfortably against his shoulder, hands coming up around his neck. And to think Mimzy was going to dance to this tune with him… oh, she could bet she had given her performers some subtle signal to start playing this before they went up!

The thought made her grumble a little, tenseness weaving into her shoulders as her brows creased, despite the intimate way she and Alastor were dancing with one another. It seemed he had taken notice of this before she did too, dragging the finger down her crease before cupping her cheek to tilt her face up towards his. “My, and here I was thinking that a little bit of the show tunes might turn that frown upside down! Whatever’s still bothering you dear?”

Her expression morphed into one of quiet shock that she had been caught out, and then horror from realizing she’d either have to immediately come up with a plausible excuse for her foul mood despite Alastor’s hand on the small of her back and the other comfortingly warm against her cheek. That or tell him the truth which was equally if not more horrifying. Of course, the radio demon simply watched all this flit across her face with an amused smile, since she was far more telling than she believed herself to be in the present moment.

“I– just– you know–,“ She began awkwardly, pulling her head from his shoulder, awkwardly glancing away from him as much as she could with the pressure of his palm against her cheek. When she met his gaze it was obvious she wasn’t fooling him tonight though, especially since she couldn’t help but look over at Mimzy who was sipping rather sourly at a martini that had materialized in her hands.

“No actually I don’t, hence the question,” He cheerfully chirped, earning himself an eye roll and a groan.

“Ugh you’re such a smartass sometimes,”

“So I’ve been told. So what is it doll?”

She bit a little at her lower lip, looking absolutely ravishing and adorable in Alastor’s eyes, coupled with the spark of anger he saw in her before where her horns sprouted and eyes bled red, well, she was definitely capturing his attention. But even _more_ so when she said, “Have you ever had feelings for Mimzy?”

He blinked at her in surprise, processing the question with the faint white noise of radio dials switching between channels before he burst out in laughter, holding her closer to him as he rested his cheek atop her head. “Ha! Me? Mimzy? Oh Heavens no, though I can’t say she hasn’t tried her hand at making it the case a few times here and there, both in our human lives and since we’ve arrived down here. No no dear, Mimzy is nothing more than a dear friend, nothing more, and I have never seen her as anything more,”

That definitely put her mind at ease, even though she didn’t know how to feel about the buxom demoness having expressed an interest in him for decades now. “But she’s so… I don’t know? Womanly? And murderous? Just kind of seems like your ideal candidate,” She shrugged pathetically, voice slightly muffled from how he seemed to be hugging her into him.

“Charlie my love, I’ll say this once so listen very carefully now,” He said, pulling away to push her hair out of her face. “Never once have I ever considered the notion of romance. My ideal candidate was my hunting rifle, the thrill of slicing one’s jugular and having their blood spray across the room, speaking through wired microphones to an anonymous audience. Women and men alike never caught my fancy, and frankly I never thought they ever could, not until I met you, understand?”

Now was her turn to silently stare back at him, cheeks red as beets as she nodded slowly. What a gruesome yet very touching confession on his part. All previous thoughts about Mimzy disintegrated from her mind entirely. “ _You_ are the only one for me Charlie, and besides, I much prefer your frame to hers,” He winked, before leaning in to chastely press a kiss to her lips. She gave a small whine from under it but returned the notion, settling once more against his chest.

They danced in quiet comfort from that point on, a gentle smile gracing the princesses features as Alastor whisked her around the dancefloor, even when the songs changed to a more up tempo beat.

“Al?” She finally breathed, her big eyes looking up at him.

“Yes darling?”

“Maybe you could show me how much you prefer my ‘ _frame_ ’ later tonight?”

The static that followed that was enough to turn heads of the neighboring partners, only for them to be met with the sight of a flushed Alastor looking down bashfully at the blonde in his arms.


	5. All That Glitters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day 5 - date
> 
> What's lost can sometimes be found, better and shinier than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this is a human AU just so it's clear!
> 
> probably the weakest of the lot, but i'm exhausted from work so... here it is. anyway! fluff mostly, just, so much of it. it's just cotton candy at this point.

What she had expected when Alastor had sent for her was something along the lines of a thick binder of the monthly reports, his own personal assessments on each of the residents of the Hotel, some new potential donors and investors that he had set up meetings with and… other work related things. Honestly thinking about it was already adding to her budding migraine and she reached a hand up to pinch at her nose bridge. Of course, it wasn’t to say she wasn’t rather happy at the thought of seeing Alastor, it just meant that there would be a price to pay for it. A price that made her eyes water and her head hurt. Was it so much to ask for that she just, lie down for once? Take a break? Eat something that wasn’t an on the go apple or soggy sandwich?

She knocked at the door of his office, swaying on the balls of her feet as she awaited his answer until she heard a muffled “Come in!” from the other side of the wood panel. Unusual, given that Alastor was nothing but a man of formality that always presented himself at the door when prompted too. He was probably swamped with duties too, now that it seemed they were receiving more and more visitors, and he had his day job to balance alongside his self-proclaimed aid for Charlie’s charity work. Even if it _did_ start out as a way for him to get a laugh out of the whole project, it had clearly evolved past that.

When she turned the knob on the door, she expected to see him hunched over, glasses sliding just to the very end of his nose bridge, papers strewn (as strewn as they could get by Al’s standards anyway) and a slightly ruffled look to his hazel hair. Instead, what she was met with was warm candlelight illuminating the room, a small dining table that had materialized in front of his usual desk, and Alastor leaning against the edge of his table with a somewhat smug smirk plastered to his face. She was so taken with the way that the flickering beams of orange danced across his caramel skin that it was only when he cleared his throat that she snapped out of her reverie to take in the bottle of wine and plates of etouffee he’d set.

“Alastor…” She breathed, heels clicking cautious steps towards him as if this was all just a fever dream amidst her exhaustion and hasty movements would cause it to dissipate. There was the soft lull of jazz coming from the radio he had set up in the corner of the room, a bouquet of flowers picked and ribbon tied just beside it along with a small box.

“Charlie,” He supplied cheerfully, reaching for the bottle to uncork it with a soft fizzle. He made for one of the flutes to pour the golden liquid into, Charlie still frozen by the door as she watched him. “It might be tough love to get any of the dinner I made in your kisser if you’re all the way over there,” He gestured, setting down the glasses to pull a seat out, for her given the way he nodded towards it.

“What is all this about?” She breathed, still glancing about the room in wonder, graciously sliding into the seat he’d pulled out for her before he went to collect the bouquet and gift before joining her in the adjacent seat. “It’s… let’s just say it wasn’t at all what I was expecting,”

“Good!” He laughed, pushing the box towards her on the table. “It means that my efforts at the element of surprise were a rousing success!” He was pleased with himself, but there was more to it than just that. She glanced between him and the box suspiciously, a petite hand cautiously grazing the top of it before she snagged it out of his grip.

Pulling apart the ribbon slowly was just so she could feel the lingering burning of his gaze as he watched her pull it apart elegantly but torturously slow. The tape was peeled and the paper unfurled until she got to the content of a white snap box, where she felt along its ridges. “What’s this for?”

“Why, for the other rousing success that has yet to be noted my dear,” He said so simply as if it was obvious, a question not even worth asking. “You’ve hit a milestone number of inhabitants!”

She looked up at him, dazed with confusion at first until he supplied her with two fingers held up by one hand and five on the other. Gosh! Had it already been that many patrons?

“Now now, save the gobsmacked look for after you open up that lil treasure I’ve stored away for you that you spent just _so_ long unwrapping,” He urged, withdrawing his hands with a chuckle.

Right! That was still in her hands. She carefully pushed the lid up, revealing a coin that had been embossed with the logo she had done up with Vaggie for the hotel, one which had only recently made its way up onto the sign they had installed. She turned the metal around in her fingers, the back of it had a slightly messy engraving in finer font:

‘ _Love Always – A’_

“Rather corny Mr. Convoluted Radio Star,” She teased, although the way she was smiling adoringly down at the accessory showed just how truly she appreciated the sentiment. When had he even had the time to go and get this done? “This must’ve cost you a pretty pair of C’s… Al’! Please tell me you didn’t fork out a month’s income for this!” A slightly mortified squeal left her lips as that realization set in.

Instead, she heard the rustle of the flowers being set down between the food, before the chair scraped ever so slightly and Alastor’s hands were reaching down from behind her to pluck the necklace out of her hands. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ve had this thought rattling around in my head begging to be let free for some time now,” He assured her, unclasping it to gently wind it around her neck. The touch of the cool metal with the warmth of his hands pressed to her bare collarbones left her buzzing, a small gasp leaving her at the unexpected motion. “Despite everything I always knew this day would come, and you’ll only reach for higher goals than before my dear. You dropped this on the way out of the station if you recall, and then fretted about having to forgo a loaf of bread later in the day, remember?” A press of his lips was felt at the crown of her head as he finally secured the adornment, gliding back to his earlier seat. “Forgive the short statement though. The size proved to be a bit of a constraint,”

Her fingers twined around the metal on her neck, twirling it around in her fingers with just an overwhelming amount of love and adoration for the man before her she thought she might just burst. “I love it,”

“I’m glad,” Was his sincere response, before he picked at his cutlery, shooting her a pointed look to do the same. “Now, let’s see if you feel the same about some of this grub you’ve been depriving yourself of, shall we?”


	6. Stairway to Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day 6 - hurt
> 
> Shattering the mirror of heaven is not quite worth the years of bad luck that Alastor thinks might be the ultimate prize.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so this was the longest one I've written, but maybe the proudest one I've done too? fluff is fun but really just emotional torment is more of my strong suit. enjoy! 
> 
> (disclaimer: there still is something of a happy ending to this)

For all the progress that Alastor had been making despite his best efforts not to be redeemed, it seemed all of that was just suddenly cut short. What had been a lingering presence in the hotel, one which she could not but find herself yearning for more and more, suddenly vanished like it was no more than a fading wisp of smoke. It’d been two weeks since anyone had really seen Al’, and despite the growth in the hotels residents, none of them had quite reached the redemption point of caring. None except Vaggie at least. Who was hurrying down the hall now, a glint of worry in her eye before she latched onto Charlie’s wrist, tugging at her with an urgency that she had never before felt. “Charlie,” She panted, tugging her back the direction she had come. “You need to listen to this. _Now,”_

___

Alastor had returned at the crack of dawn half a week later. He could have teleported his way in, avoided the hustle and bustle of the morning crowd, even if it was likely none were awake. Could have avoided Vaggie sticking her spear down his throat like he was a deer skewer, and most importantly could have avoided the cold gaze of Charlie when he stepped through the front doors matted in blood.

“Alastor,” She tersely greeted him, eyes peering up from the book she had in her hand. The title on it had him a little startled, for wherever in the depths of Hell would she even have been able to recover such a text? It wasn’t a question he could linger on too long before it snapped shut and she indignantly regarded him with the raise of her chin. Alastor was a being used to being threatened, and having weapons and vulgarities hurled his way, but never before had he felt even just the slightest hint of a shiver the way he had when she fixed her red eyes on him. What might have once excited him to see her so riled up made him feel sourer, though there was another thrill attached to it.

“You’ve been busy I see,” She said emotionlessly, her hand stiffly motioning towards the dried blood that had soaked into the crimson of his coat. Despite the red of his getup the sheer amount of gore that he had under his built from the week alone was still noticeable against the bright hue. A few minutes earlier, that was a prideful observation for him as he strode back towards the doors of the Hotel, sinners scampering out of his way the minute they even caught a glimpse of the red glow emanating off of him. The flickering of the red coming off of his cane and from his eyes now, remnants of static buzzing behind his retinas doing little to make any impact on her. In fact, it seemed like she was having a showdown with him on who could out stare the other. “Thanks, by the way for the heads up and all, it was super neat,”

He had seen Charlie frustrated before, upset definitely, crying, far too many times to count. But never had he really seen her angry to the point where she was nearly devoid of expression, bubbling over in a way visible only in her unusual callousness. Good on him for bringing out such a change, inspiring her inner demon! Haha! Maybe this was just what he needed to expose this redemption shmuck as the sham it really was! Who knew all it took was the slaughter of some dozens, or hundreds of demons!

“Not to worry darling, I made sure to keep you as informed as I thought you ought to have been,” He calmly replied, the clicking of his dress shoes the only noise breaking the tension in the room. “’Why, Alastor, but you hardly informed me at all! Besides via the gruesome yet enthralling broadcast you so generously allowed to surpass the magical boundary you yourself created!’ Good observation doll! That’s because last I checked, my mother was up in Heaven, and since you’re down here in Hell, I can do as I please, and leave when I want!”

She drummed her fingers against her forearm where she had her arms folded, seemingly considering his words even though her claws were peeking through her nailbeds. “Clearly,” She finally concluded, taking her own steps towards him as she sized him up. She was a good head and a half shorter, something he had noted before in the times she had thrown herself into his arms in a flurry of emotion, even if he stiffened like a board. Now however, she made no show of approach. “Yes, how could I ever mistake you for anything else,”

“Did you now?” His eyes slanted at her, slightly more menacing despite the tight grin he had on. To anyone else, this was probably the part where they would consider cowering. Charlie met his gaze with her own scowl, and he couldn’t help but think even if it did prove somewhat riveting, it didn’t flood him with warmth the way her smile could whenever she proved her competence at a task. “Mistake me for anything else? Now, why in Lucifer’s name would you ever do that?”

She laughed, a bitter tinny sound that made him grip around his cane firmer. “Oh jeez! I wonder! Maybe it’s because I thought finally you had put some faith into this hotel, and started maybe, caring? About this lifelong plan I have? Which in my terms, is more centuries than you can wrap your mortal head around!”

“I never once expressed that I cared–“ He quickly intercepted before she held up a hand to silence him in such a regal manner he could see Lillith in the figure before him.

“Didn’t you? You’re telling me you just hung around and watched, and suggested all these plans? You spent hours with me laboring over upcoming events and new implementations? You– you stayed with me when things got too much and hugged me even when you _hate_ being touched and told me you believed in me? Told me no matter what you’d be _there?!”_ Her golden hair flared around her like an angry halo, and Alastor might have cowered if he were a lesser demon.

“Darling that is _exactly_ what I have done and if you cannot see–“

“What I can see, is how much of a fool I was for believing that– that you could change! No, not even that, that I could even be fractionally _responsible for it!”_ Angry hot tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, streaming down the apples of her cheeks in such a manner that wrung his heart – who knew he had one left – in such a painful way that he shut his mouth up instantly, hand twitching to wipe at her face. “So yes Alastor, I concede. Do what you want, I won’t listen out for where you are and who it is you’re brutalizing this time. Goodnight,” She choked, voice hoarse from what was practically waking all the denizens her building had confined within the walls. She turned sharply on her heel before he could say anymore, and it was clear if he attempted to it would fall on deaf ears. Yet, despite the silence, the blood pounding in his ears was what was truly deafening.

___

Despite her best efforts to keep up the façade of happy, albeit somewhat disappointed in her Alastor situation, it was hard really to maintain that image all the time. Frankly she was devastated, shattered in fact. It seemed he had come so far in the few years they had spent together, and just when she thought perhaps, the bloodlust had subsided and he was putting others before himself, he poofed. Vanished. Showed up on her doorstep showered in blood with a horrifically sadistic grin on his face and the look like he had done it all in some elaborate scheme to fuck with her head. Vaggie might have warned her against any deals with the Radio Demon but she had gone ahead and made one anyway, without even realizing it.

She groaned once more, her mind often leading her down this train of thought as she buried her head in her hands again, sinking into her chair with her knees drawn up to her chest. She hadn’t seen him since she had snapped at him in the hallway that morning days ago, and it seemed he really had abandoned his piece of entertainment for good. That was it. Years of working together and one day he gets bored, reveals it was all just a lie and leaves. Why did she expect anything else from one of Hell’s most infamous sinners? There had to be a reason he was damned.

The knock on her door was barely registered, and she mumbled a quiet “Come in,” Expecting Vaggie to worriedly tiptoe her way in and curl her arms around her. Yeah, that probably would’ve been nice. The two might not have been together anymore, for better or for worse, but she could still use the comfort of someone who hadn’t abandoned her.

_Who hadn’t made her feel like she was freefalling everyday only to crush her heart to dust, more like._

“How long are you going to stay curled up like that?” A familiar voice inquired, having gotten closer to her than she had heard. Those damn shadow demons.

She peeled her face out of her hands, staring at him like he was an apparition of an angel there to exterminate her with her jaw slightly agape. The shock was momentary though before she recovered, snarling at him as she recoiled. “What are you doing here?”

“Please, Charlie,” He said, quietly without the mask of the sounds of the radio to hide his voice. It sounded raw, real, and from how he looked nearly fidgety– well, the whole image was just too, uncharacteristic for her to not at least hear him out, even if it was another ploy.

He took her silence as encouragement to continue, eyes flitting to the nearest chair that he pulled over, sitting in front of her. His hand hovered, looking like for a moment he might take one of hers between his before it settled back in his lap. “I’ve been a fool,” He finally mumbled, so quiet she had to strain to hear him.

“W-What?”

“I’ve been a fool,” He repeated louder this time, gaze falling to the floor. His smile looked forced, noticeably so, like he was nervous about something. “I– I was wrong. I understand. Not necessarily in my actions… or all of them. But in… doing something I knew would hurt you. Intentionally,” He paused, pursed his lips and wrung his hands before continuing. “I suppose I never really understood the impact it would have on you. Or, rather, I fully understood the impact it would have on you and that was why I did it. I wanted you to be angry, and I wanted to infuriate you,”

“…Is this your idea of an apology or something?”

“Please. Charlie, let me continue. See, I had felt… a discontent with myself. Like I was becoming a stranger within my own body, like my magic was fading from within my essence. I felt so unlike… _me,_ and yet I could not bring myself to truly despise it. I had developed this odd sense of attachment, of protectiveness for this place and it’s residents. More specifically, I felt it for you, and I felt it most strongly in that sense,” Finally, his eyes flitted up to meet hers and her heart caught in her throat. So much for not being suckered in. “For you see Charlie, I felt that I was getting closer to Heaven in more ways than one. And that thought was so utterly absurd and possibly the most terrified I have been since I had my limbs in the mouths of those horrid dogs that insistently tore at my flesh until I breathed my last breath, as it felt as if I might breathe my last one down here,”

She blinked quietly at him, unsure what exactly to make of his words. It was definitely… a confession of some sort, in one of those riddley Alastor ways that couldn’t really get straight to the point without a bit of confusion thrown into the mix.

“…With you. For… you are the closest I have come to feeling alive, truly, alive in the fullest sense, and I don’t even need to have a hacksaw in my hands or bones crunching under my feet! No, you’ve somehow made me feel so horribly alive simply by smiling!” He cracked his own then, still nervously turning his hands about in his lap. “And if I had to give that up, well. That just wouldn’t do. And that dependency I suppose, well, that too wouldn’t do. So what better way to kill two birds with one stone?”

“…So…. You slaughtered all of those demons…. So that I would hate you… but also… so you wouldn’t go to heaven?” She slowly said, eyebrows furrowing in thought. What a… bizarre way to make her twist her insides up. “Wow that’s… the most fucked up heartfelt thing I’ve ever been told. And I’m from Hell,”

“Why that’s a compliment if I’ve ever heard one!” He exclaimed with some glee, daring to scoot a little closer. “…But, well, yes. That is essentially the gist of it. I think I definitely succeeded in one part of that plan but as for the other? Why, I think the truest torment would be living this afterlife knowing that I had pushed you so far out of reach that you would spend your eternity despising me for reasons that I have never been despised for before. No, I’m far too selfish, to allow that,” The hand that wanted to reach for hers before finally did so, if a little hesitantly. He curled his fingers questioningly around hers, searching her face for a response. “How could I when I’ve found Heaven down here, in the furthest realm for where the real deal is? How could I when this is far sweeter than any redemption could ever be?”

She stared at him in shock, stifling a sob before she crumbled. Truly just, crumbled, crumpling into him entirely as she wrapped her arms around him in a way so familiar that he could not help but return the gesture, his own eyes fluttering shut.

“You’re horrible,” She whispered in between whimpers, curling her hands into his coat, feeling herself sob into his shoulder while his nose pressed daringly into the top of her head. “And despite it,” She pulled back, wiping at her teary eyes with the back of her hand. “I love you too,”


	7. Red Lips, Kiss My Blues Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day 7 - free (lecturer!au) 
> 
> Who would have thought in all the places he would find a semblance of understanding is on the other end of the spectrum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so!! this is so super late i may as well publish it separately but yet... here we are. i've been super caught up at work and uni, and life has been hectic amid everything going on here, so sorry for the late update!!
> 
> this concludes this spurt of one-shots, but i have a multi-chapter fic in the works that unlike this i will reread and beta before publishing so, keep your eyes peeled!

Professor Magne isn’t someone whom he pays too much heed to, usually when she’s chewing on a carrot slice in the staff lounge room, eyes flickering about over a screen at some article that’s just come up in global politics or worse yet, _pop culture_ but he understands the magnetism she possesses (pun not intended). For instance, the day she joined the faculty of criminology, she had stumbled into his media lecture staring at him with an armful of lecture notes and a distressed bun as she stared at him, piecing together that this wasn’t her lecture slot or even the hall she was meant to be in.

“Oh– oh no, uhmmmm, forget I was ever here and have a fun lecture everyone!” She had chirped, finger gunning in a way that made a sheet of paper slip in her grasp while Alastor stared at her with his writing hand still poised over the board mid-sentence. He realizes maybe he should help her so she can get out of his lecture sooner and his students stop getting distracted and giggling at this dumb blonde trying miserably hard to hold it all together.

In all manners of cliché, their fingers brush on the same papers that have slid to the floor, but it does nothing for Alastor the way it makes her light up like a bulb, red grazing the tips of her ears when they meet eyes. There is an undeniable charm to her, but this is not the instance in which he sees it. More so, it’s when he’s heading back with a cup of joe in one hand and a thick-set book in the other that he notices her with a stern expression talking down one of the men in her department. Clearly, they had said something to rub her the wrong way, and if he were to hazard a guess, it was likely to be something relating to her incompetence simply for being a woman. Had she not gotten there first, he would have provided other means in which she was incompetent, but instead she was rather competently holding her own and talking them into a hole with all the knowledge she possessed that they lacked. When they had been stupefied enough, she gave a satisfied little ‘hrmph’, crossed her arms with a smirk and walked off in the opposite direction.

“Alastor right?” Was the second time he had encountered her when he was at the grocery store not far off campus browsing through various types of wine for cooking that night. His prey was gamier than usual so he’d have to find something to really tenderize his meal for the night. Sadly, he didn’t get another moment to continue considering what spices might yield a better flavor profile from the dock worker sitting in bags in his freezer at home as a testy blonde had entered his periphery. “Hey! I thought it was you the other day, sorry for barging in on you like that and being an absolute, well, disaster right there in front of everyone,” She sheepishly rubbed at an arm and Alastor found in place of what ought’ve been irritation was just mild bemusement.

“Not to worry doll, I think you saved mine and everyone else’s brain from turning to mush at the point that you entered,” He joked, retracting his hand from grabbing the bottle off the shelf. “I take it you’re a fan of the nightly broadcasts?” He guessed, given how she had assumed his identity.

“Oh yeah definitely! I never realized you were a lecturer by day, although with your voice it’s not too odd a thought. You certainly have a way of having people hold on to every little thing you say!” She emitted a breathy little giggle at that, and Alastor couldn’t help the upward twitch in his smile. Quite like watching a bunny stumble around in a meadow. “Anyway, I just happened to y’know, catch you around here so… thought I’d break the ice so that your last memory of me wouldn’t be my uh. Dropping books all over myself,” One of her hands sheepishly rubbed at the back of her neck before her eyes darted elsewhere, clearly ready to wrap up this little interaction of theirs.

“Well, if you’d like to turn that around you’re welcome to find me in the lounge whenever your breaks permit it,” He shrugged off before he could even help himself, wondering where on Earth that proposition had sprung from. Usually he could care less for his colleagues, most of them being far too inept to impart wisdom on the budding generation. Though there was something amusing about the whole charade regardless.

“Oh,” She said, a little taken aback herself. Not in a way that looked like she might possibly reject him, though that would probably leave little effect on him regardless, but more so that she just hadn’t expected such a kind gesture. “I– As long as I’m no imposition I’d love to! Provided you don’t come up to me and pick a fight over something I hold several degrees in,” The eye roll was enough to remind him of the other day and he gave her a short laugh, being met with a similar one on her end.

“No promises,” He winked, before gliding off around her. Considering her field of studies, there were definitely no promises at all.

The third time he had met her was when she had awkwardly scooted beside him at an empty table at lunch. He made sure to avoid most of the staff where he could, and his reputation was enough to leave most people a tad intimidated of him. That and he wasn’t the sort to entertain anything too _pedestrian_ conversationally. “You know Miss. Magne, you are allowed to sit beside me in this vacant seat?” He said without lifting his gaze from the novel he had open in one hand, spooning around the leftovers of his dinner from the night before. Despite what he assumed would be a tough bite, his most recent catch had been the _wonderful_ cut for the marinade he’d whipped up. Oh, if only the innocent dame on his right had any idea that before him he had the remnants of a dead man. How that would make her squeal in fright!

“Charlotte,” She rather abruptly said, and he thought for a moment perhaps she was referring to his book. Did she mistake him for the sort to pick Charlotte Bronte off the shelf? Now that absolutely wouldn’t d– “My name I mean. But call me Charlie, it’s less… regal?”

“Ah, I hadn’t realized I didn’t catch your name off you,” The side eye he cast held a glint of engagement, and he couldn’t help but appreciate the way the sunlight filtered through the locks of her hair. An odd thought, since usually he’d be observing the supple nature of her skin, and how thin it might be if he wanted to make an indentation through her jugular. Not one he lingered on too long anyway. “It’s a lovely name, one that suits you,”

The dusting of pink over her cheeks made him feel a little warm on this cool spring day.

“Why thank you, I think your name is lovely too,” She teased a little, touching where her cheek had bloomed a blossom pink. “So, a John Milton fan are we?” Her chin nodded towards the pages splayed between his slender fingers, and for the first time that day, he turned to look at her properly.

The next few instances weren’t exactly noteworthy, but they were… something. Alastor often didn’t care for letting people in his life, as he often didn’t care for people unless they were owing him favors, the cause of his nightly entertainment, or someone he could share his macabre habits with. Mimzy came closest to breaching that barrier, but even she was a bit too much of a patsy in the matters of the heart. Frankly, up until this Charlie doll had entered his life, it wasn’t something that even crossed the threshold of his brain.

She was just such an odd little fella… her big eyes and bigger dreams, her big fortune she wanted nothing to do with and her big heart that always sought the best in people. “Lecturing is… well, it’s rewarding, but one day it’d be good if I could help educate… no rehabilitate, those that don’t have the opportunity,” She mumbled, sifting through his fruit basket, deciding on an apple and pulling herself atop her counter. “People who deserve a second chance. Or a third. Maybe even a fifth. There’s good in _everyone,”_

He plucked her apple from her hand, took his own bite and slid his hand in hers. “Not everyone darling,” He responded, the intensity of his gaze causing her to waver.

“Even you Al’,” She’d muttered those cryptic words, pulling her hand out of his to lay it on his chest, waiting for him to adjust to her touch before it crawled ever so slowly up to his chin, pulling him in for a kiss. He savored it; the taste so much sweeter than anything he’d ever had before.

Which brought them to her arms wrapped around him from behind, shallow breaths puffed out against his blood-soaked shirt as she stifled her sobs. “Even you,” She mumbled, moving around to his front to look at the body sprawled in odd angles and hacked in pieces before them. She blinked teary eyed at it in a way that suggested she had expected this, slipped into his arms even if they painted her red and nuzzled into his neck. “Even you,”


End file.
